Awards for Byari, Vidya It was an impressive debut for the Byari feature film industry with its first offering, simply titled 'Byari' , sharing the top prize at the 2011. The film, made in the dialect of the Byari Muslims of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, shared the Best Film Award with Marathi film 'Deool' , which also snagged the Best Actor Award for its male lead . In the midst of a sweep for regional films, the only major prize won by a mainstream Bollywood movie went to actor Vidya Balan, who took the Best Actress Award, and even that was for her portrayal of a South Indian film siren in the biopic 'The Dirty Picture' . Surfing the crest of this regional wave is 'Byari' , which explores the distress of a woman trapped within the rigidity of her community's religious and cultural traditions. This is the first ever feature film made in the language. The Byari language, which linguistic experts describe as Malayalam idioms with Tulu phonology and grammar, heavily spiced with an Arabic influence, is usually written using Kannada letters as it does not have a written script of its own. The best popular film award went to Tamil film 'Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai' , while Gurvinder Singh won the best director award for Punjabi film 'Anhe Ghorey Da Daan' .

NABARD undertakes campaign to preserve jallikattu cattle The world-famous Jallikattu cattle is among the ten livestock breeds indigenous to Tamil Nadu selected for a conservation project being funded by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The cattle of Pulikulam village near here, where the bulls are mainly bred for Jallikattu, and the goats of Katchakatti are the two species native to Madurai that have been chosen under the project. Being implemented through NABARD'S Farmers Technology Transfer Fund, the initiative aims to conserve native breeds by imparting training to their rearers and document the current status of these breeds. A study on these species was conducted by SEVA (Sustainable agriculture and Environmental Voluntary Action) an institution specialising in conservation of native cattle breeds that had been roped in for the project. SEVA found that Pulikulam cattle were contributing significantly to organic farming of coconut, grapes, banana and spices crops of the area through manure and draft power. They were more resistant to communicable and parasitic diseases as compared to the crossbreds in that area under hot and wet conditions.

India, Pakistan keen to open up borders for trade Seeking to give a big push to opening up of borders for trade and commerce between India and Pakistan, the Joint Working Groups (JWGs) on electricity, petroleum and banking are scheduled to meet this month to work on further enhancing the economic engagement and opening of bank branches between the two countries. The talks between the Home Secretaries of the two countries for liberalising the visa regime and reviewing the 1974 visa agreement between India and Pakistan are also likely to be held this month in order to pave the way for a new and more open visa policy, especially for businessmen from the across the border to enhance people-to-people exchange. The joint working group on electricity was scheduled to meet in Lahore this month to work and finalise the modalities for opening up electricity trade between the two countries. The first meeting of this JWG was held in October 2011 in New Delhi. The first meeting of the JWG on trade in petroleum products is likely to be held in New Delhi. Talks between the State Bank of Pakistan and the Reserve Bank of India are likely to be held in Mumbai to discuss this issue threadbare and draw up a roadmap for opening of bank branches. Traders on both sides have stated that for any enhancement of trade engagement, it is important the banking branches are opened in both countries for smooth financial transactions.

Glaucoma second largest cause of blindness India has an estimated 11.2 million people suffering from glaucoma and, of them, 1.1 million are already blind, G. Chandrasekhar, Director, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) said in Hyderabad. He said 90 per cent of glaucoma cases in India and some other countries remain un-diagnosed while even in advanced countries the figure was 50 per cent. Half of the cases were simply ‘missed' by eyecare professionals. He was addressing a press conference to announce the ‘Glaucoma Awareness Week' to be held between March 10 and 17, on the theme of “Don't let glaucoma darken your life”.

National award caps debut director's achievements From making a mark in international film festivals to receiving the ‘Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director', young director Thiagarajan Kumararaja seems to have completed the circle. His ‘Aaranya Kaandam', along with ‘Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai' (Best popular film providing wholesome entertainment) and ‘Vaagai Sooda Va' (Best Tamil film), has left a lasting impression on the jury for the National Film Awards 2012. Actor-director Revathy received the award for ‘Best film on family values' for ‘Red Building where the Sun Sets'. The 17-minute film was made for an organisation in Bangalore. It looks at how a child is affected

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when his or her parents fight…the film was for parents' viewing and the script came out well.

Ladakh to host very first international film festival Ladakh has always been known as a tourist destination, but it will soon host its very first international film festival. The Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF), the highest-altitude film festival at 13,500 feet above sea level, will begin on June 15. It will go on for three days and focus largely on introducing world-class cinema to Ladakh. Veteran film-maker Shyam Benegal has been roped in as the chairman for the festival. The festival has received entries from, besides India, countries like the US, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Brazil, France and Nepal. The films will be viewed by a pre-jury and subsequently by the international jury before the final list of films that will be screened at LIFF will be announced. The mascot of festival is 'Schan' the snow leopard. Through its association with the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust, the festival will also aim to raise awareness among people on protecting the rare and endangered animal.

Film on Delhi Metro bags National Award The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's film on the engineering challenges faced during Phase II of its construction, 'The Dream Fulfilled Memories of the Engineering Challenges' , won the prestigious National Award in the “best promotional film – non-feature films” category. “The film was declared the winner at a Press conference convened to announce the names of the winners of the 59th National Film Awards for the year 2011,” said a DMRC spokesperson. The Rajat Kamal award will be conferred on the film by President Pratibha Patil in May. Under Phase II, 125 km of metro lines were constructed in four-and-a-half-years. The film was screened and appreciated at the International Film Festival of India under the Indian Panorama section held in Goa in November 2011.

French implant firm chief jailed The founder of the French breast implant company at the heart of a global health scare was jailed after failing to pay his bail, a source said. Jean-Claude Mas (72) was jailed, the source said. In January, he was charged with causing “involuntary injuries” but released on a $131,000 bail. Mas is the founder of Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), which shut down in 2010 after it was revealed to have been using substandard, industrial-grade silicone gel. Between 400,000 and 500,000 women in 65 countries are believed to have implants from PIP, once the world's third-largest silicone implant producer.

India yet to decide on rights resolution against Sri Lanka India is yet to take a position on the U.S.-backed resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). But the general view in the country, specific to human rights resolutions, is that they do more harm than good. This has been our response to such resolutions for a number of years. India is still to take a stand on the resolution backed by Norway and western countries, besides the U.S., though Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has written twice to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that New Delhi go with it, while Pakistan, along with the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC), Russia and China, has supported Sri Lanka.

India may never be a superpower: LSE study Despite India's “impressive'' rise, its ambition to be a superpower may remain just that an ambition, according to an authoritative new study by the London School of Economics (LSE) to which several Indian scholars have contributed. It pointedly dismisses what it calls the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's “unequivocal verdict” during her India visit in 2009 that “India is not just a regional power, but a global power.” The study, ‘India: the Next Superpower?' acknowledges India's “formidable achievements” in fostering democracy, growth and cultural dynamism but concludes that these are nullified by its structural weaknesses, widespread corruption, poor leadership, extreme social divisions, religious extremism and internal security threats. Historian Ramachandra Guha, at present the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE, suggests that rather than being seduced by the bright lights of great power diplomacy, India should instead focus on reforming its institutions and repairing the social fabric that seems to be coming off its seams. India has been one of the world's best-performing economies for a quarter of a century, lifting millions out of poverty and becoming the world's third-largest economy in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) terms. India has tripled its defence expenditure over the last decade to become one of the top- ten military spenders.

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Kingfisher out of IATA clearance system Cash strapped private carrier Kingfisher Airlines, which is struggling to stay afloat, was dealt with yet another blow when the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a leading international association, asked travel agents to immediately stop booking tickets on the private airline's behalf for failure in settling dues since February 2012. The move which can be compared to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) removing a commercial bank from its currency clearing system came hours after the Income-tax Department froze more bank accounts of the Vijay Mallya-owned airline for non-payment of dues. IATA move to suspend Kingfisher from the clearance system on account of non-payment of dues was likely to affect nearly 30-35 per cent of its business. The IATA had also barred Kingfisher from its international ticket clearing house (ICH) system on February 2, 2012.

Asus offers new range of desktops Leading motherboard maker Asus has launched a range of desktops. Albert Tung, Managing Director, Asus (India), formally launched the new range of six high performance multimedia and gaming desktop models featuring Intel's H61 to Z68 chipsets under CM (multimedia) and CG (gaming) series. Asus India component business country head Vinay Shetty said the mid- and high-end models were priced between Rs.22,000 and Rs.85,000 without monitor and other peripherals.

HPCL stops fuel supply to Kingfisher In a fresh trouble for Kingfisher, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited has stopped jet fuel supplies to the carrier owing to the non-payment of dues. This resulted in six flights being cancelled in Bombay and some disruptions in Delhi.

Intel Corp launches new server chip Leading global chipset maker Intel Corp launched its newest server chip, Xeon E5. Aimed at addressing the growing data centre needs and increase in global data centre IP traffic, this eight-bit processor will power the next generation of storage and communication systems. The processor's launch was announced globally. Compared to the previous generation of Intel's processors, the Xeon processor delivers up to 80 per cent improved performance, an improvement in input-output processing (that is the speed at which data moves in and out of the processor) by a factor of three, and over 50 per cent gain in energy efficiency.

Owais Shah replaces Warne England's Owais Shah has replaced Shane Warne in the Rajasthan Royals team for the IPL-V season. Shah has played for Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils and Kochi Tuskers Kerala in previous IPL seasons.

Yuki beats Udomchoke Yuki Bhambri celebrated his return to the Indian Davis Cup squad by beating fifth-seeded Danai Udomchoke of Thailand 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the pre-quarterfinals of the $35,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Kyoto, Japan.

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